New Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk feels at home. Now, he’s ready for the season to start
Matthew Tkachuk has been in South Florida for a couple weeks now. He has participated in informal skates with his new Florida Panthers teammates at the Panthers IceDen in Coral Springs with training camp on the horizon.
Tkachuk knows there’s still a lot to be done between now and the Panthers’ season opener on Oct. 13, but if the star forward had his way, the puck would be dropping now and the Panthers would be on their way to building on last year’s run to a Presidents’ Trophy and the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
“The season is right around the corner. This is where you start to get the goosebumps and the jitters. It’s a great time of year but it’s also the time of year where you are so close but still have the next few weeks to get ready,” Tkachuk said Monday from the field at loanDepot park, where he threw out the ceremonial pitch before the Miami Marlins’ 10-6 win over the Texas Rangers in Game 2 of a doubleheader. “If it was up to me, I would fast-forward to that Game 1 right now. It’s an exciting time, practicing with basically everyone on the team. It has been so good to get to know everyone on and off the ice. It’s going to be a special year.”
The Panthers traded with the Calgary Flames for Tkachuk — sending away cornerstones Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar — with the hopes it would be just that.
Florida had the best regular season in franchise history, going 58-18-6, and beat the Washington Capitals in the first round of the playoffs before being swept by their in-state rival Tampa Bay Lightning in the conference semi-finals.
The Panthers’ high-flying offense scored just three goals in their four games against Tampa Bay.
Florida hopes Tkachuk’s addition will infuse a needed layer of physicality and swagger to help them get over the hump.
Tkachuk, who set career highs in goals (42), assists (62) and points (104) last season with Calgary, says he has been fully embraced by his new teammates since the blockbuster trade was announced on July 22.
Now that he’s in South Florida and interacting with teammates in person, both on the ice and off, Tkachuk said the transition “feels real.”
“We have a lot of great players,” Tkachuk said. “It’s just getting acclimated to the guys, there’s a lot of different players from the past few years. It’s not just me; there are a lot of new faces. … We have done so much team stuff from the informal skates and hanging out off the ice that it shouldn’t take us too long to get acclimated with each other.’’
The Panthers open training camp on Sept. 22. Their first exhibition game is Sept. 26 with a doubleheader against the Nashville Predators.
“Everyone has welcomed me,” Tkachuk said. “It has been an awesome time so far. Guys not only hit you with the ‘welcome to the team,’ but also try to help you acclimate. It’s just been a great group so far and I only have unreal things to say about them.”
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